can someone do me a huge favor and measure the distance from the bottom most fan hole on the hard drive cage to the bottom of the case?

thanks!

That's around 1/4", but that fan adapter can be removed if you want.

I noticed a very strange issue the other day. When I turn my new PC off, the two top 230mm case fans either twitch or make a continuous noise, like an electrical whirring or hum. It's very perplexing because none of the other fans (including the front 230mm fan) or 12v components in the case exhibit this behavior.

They are plugged in directly to the power supply (i try to minimize the use of fan headers on the mobo whenever possible) and the twitching/noise stops immediately if I hit the switch on the back of the PSU. When I turn the PC on, they work perfectly, along with everything else.

I literally had 0 problems getting everything up and running, just this one strange issue. I've tried connecting them to different lines off the PSU, and even plugging them into fan headers on the mobo, and the same thing happens. The thing thats really perplexing is there isn't even supposed to be any current on the 12V lines when the PC is off, so this shouldn't even be possible. And even if there is current (which I'll be verifying with a multimeter in the next day or so), why are none of the other components effected? Anyone else ever seen anything like this? Thanks.

That sounds like an issue with the fan motors themselves. Contact CM for replacements and see if it's resolved since you say the front fan doesn't have that behavior.

On a similar note, once in a while I'll hear one of the blades in my front fan scrape the housing; if I give the front side of the case a noticeable thump then it stops. When I first got it the front fan wouldn't spin at all because the same blade was a tiny bit too long; I gave the blades a little nudge and it started spinning normally, wearing down the edge of that blade so it kept going.

I would contact CM for some replacement. Also those are sleeve bearing fans and there not so great horizontally and will emit noise. I don't use my top fans, I swapped them out for 3 120mmX120mmX38mm hydro bearing fans.

Panaflos, right? Which ones, and how is the noise compared to the stock fans?

The stock ones for the stock fans there quiet but there is some motor wine but with the 3 panaflos I got, there's no motor wine. The only thing you here is the WHOOSH sound of the air passing through :)

How loud is the "whooooooooosh" of air compared to the motor whine, then? What model of Panaflo did you choose?

The panaflos are rated for 86CFM, and the whoooosh sound isnt to bad and can be hardly heard when in use with a fan controller but as soon as you crank them up you will hear it and is noticeable for sure. I can hear my fans from the first floor of the house when there on max. But thats still not as annoying as the motor whine imo.

Check my thread here to read everything about the fans and the controller; now though the case looks like this.

anyone have any photos of the case with a side window? i want to see what it looks like to decide whether to buy one or to just cut one out myself. of course, i've still got to get the case!

also, if someone has a bit of time, can you measure from rail to rail at the top of the case? i was thinking of mounting the rad vertical to try to get a push/pull with shrouds. to do that, i'd need 174mm with 25mm fans and 200mm with 38mm fans.

thanks a lot!

I'm seriously considering this case for my next build. My other choice is the Antec 1200 and I have a thread pertaining to this, but I wanted to ask you guys a few specific ATCS 840 related questions:

How's the cable management? I've seen lots of pictures of the case and it doesn't seem like it has much in the way of places to tie down/hide the cables.

Is the front fan bezel's plastic tabs something I should worry about breaking over the long term? I'm not generally a very brute force kinda guy, but I'm worried that after a few years of removing it to clean that filter that wear will eventually win out.

How about dust? I know it's loaded with dust filters, but being a negative pressure case, I'm worried about drawing in dust from other non-filtered holes. I live in a very high dust environment and I'm wondering if it'll be much of a problem. I don't expect it to be completely free of dust, but if it particularly seems to attract dust like clothes fresh out of a dryer, I'd like to know.

How's the finish on the case and how durable is it? I've noted that it obtains fingerprints easily, but does it scratch or otherwise blemish permanently easily?

How's the construction quality? I've read that it's pretty high quality materials, but some reviews talk about odd gaps between pieces and things like the side panels bowing out has me worried.

I know on earlier manufactures of this case the headphone and mic jacks were mislabeled as well as the HDD and power LED's. Any idea if that has been rectified?

Finally, why are there so few ATCS 840 owners in your opinion? You'd think they were giving the Antec 1200's away looking at that thread, but here...well, you know.

Anyways, thanks in advance for your responses and I'll probably come up with some more questions later on.

There are screw holes for tie-downs on the side of the mobo tray frame facing the optical/hard drive bays, which means that's all in the open. So no, not a lot of places to tie down. The completely open area around the frame also means no way to completely hide everything; the front drive connectors and the leads for the top ports/buttons/LEDs will ALWAYS be visible somehow. But there are ways to make exposed wiring look nice, I know I've seen it done before (albeit in much smaller cases).

As long as you use only enough force to remove and re-mount it, then no, you have nothing to worry about. Just follow my removal method in the OP and it'll be fine.

Ah yes, this old issue. I did in fact notice, before the 3 new fans, that I had a small film of dust around the open vents on the back of the case, as well as the water cooling grommets. If you can fashion something out of old pantyhose (like has been suggested for the HAF932) and just downsize it for those areas, you shouldn't have any problems, especially if you have spare non-vented expansion cover brackets to use.

Only sharp plastic, glass, and/or metal will visibly scratch the finish, and even then, the hairline effect on the unscratched finish around it will minimize the effect. Otherwise you can buff fingerprints out of it very easily and it should hold up well to plenty of (accidental) blunt force.

It's extremely well constructed. The only thing that I can see being an issue, if only an aesthetic one, is the right side panel (when facing the front) for some reason was not built in a manner that allowed it to sit flush with the top front corner; through 5 minutes of muscling with the side panel I've drastically diminished the effect of this defect (heh...). You can see how it worked out in the attached image below.

I wouldn't know. Being the forum's first (known) owner of the case, I didn't mind it much even knowing it had only been on the market for a month when I got it, and didn't pay much mind to if CM's QC had ever started screening the top front panel for these mis-labels. As I said in the OP, if yours comes mis-labeled, connect the audio by COLOR, not by print, and since the power and HD activity LEDs are the same color, well, you might as well remove their labels, it won't matter either way since you'll know which is which when you turn it on.

At first I suspect it was the 280 dollar price tag. Now that 80 of those dollars have been shaved off, I don't know. I suppose some people thought that the price would never drop, especially as low as it did, and just never considered it. I know I didn't, I was shocked to see such a drop and wondered why it happened.

No problem.

Here's the image to show how the right side panel lines up, by the way.

Thanks for the detailed responses. I'll probably get another 3 fans to put in the optional mounts as intake to make it positive pressure and hopefully alleviate some of the dust problems.

To tell you the truth, the ATCS 840 won some major points with me last night as I fell asleep. This computer would be in my bedroom and as I was falling asleep, I started to think about how much the Antec 1200's multiple LED fans would brighten up the room and interfere with my sleeping... :p

I recommend this. As you can see from my post before the last one, that's what I did and I'm thoroughly pleased with the results (the cooling results, not the cabling results... haha).

I dunno, the top LEDs are extremely bright. If you have electrical tape or masking tape to put over them, then you should still be able to sleep. :p

Considering selling mine with the broken front clips. Any interest?

Hi all,

I'm from HK and my ATCS 840 is still building up

let me post some old config which will stay in my new case



I give up my LianLi and get ATCS 840 is for my dual power system

the C.M. real power M 1000 respon to the 12V loading and

the Enhance ENS 0560G 600W respon to the 3.3V & 5V loading

Did you ask Cooler Master if they'd send you a new front plate? I wouldn't sell it just yet if they'll send a new plate.

they have a parts request form I filled out a month ago with no change

Here is a pic of my case with a window.

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/2564/p4230575.jpg


IMO the cable management is great

You can always order that part if it breaks

Since buying that case back in January I believe, Ive only cleaned the filters twice. its an easy task and only takes 5 min. you can always remove the top two 230mm fans and replace them with 3 120mm fans to reduce the effect of negative pressure, also adding an intake fan at the bottom of the case will also help.

IMO the finish is great, one of the best I seen. You will notice finger prints but starches will take some force to make them visible.

Again IMO the construction build is awesome, all aluminum is great, mobo tray with ball bearing is great. I never noticed any issues with any gaps on the panels of any other part on the case. The panels are a bit on the thin side but they are still well constructed.

Is that really a bit con, IMO I really don't care about the mic and headphone jack as I go through straight into my sound card. the HDD and Power LED's are fine for me only the mic and headphone are miscolored.

IMO its because of the price when it first came out, not everyone is ready to shell out $280 on an case but now this case can be had for $199. I think this makes us exclusive. Unlike the ATCS 840's smaller brother the HAF932 lol :P


I don't have any issues with either side panels.


I would simply call there CS surly someone there will help you out.


Great work there :thumb:

Awesome dude. Hey where do you find someone to finish the case? I was to add black anodizing finish to mine and have no idea where to look for someone to do it. Also, what was your decision to powdercoat it and not anodize it?

Thanks

I think this is what you want to read, from one of the later pages (about finding someone to do it, I'm not sure what he based his decisions on):

As for myself there's a local shop that sells parts, whole systems, laptops, and modifies cases. So again it depends on your location. Mine is flat black with an anodized finish so it's a sort of in-between and it works well aside from scratch resistance, but then the outside stock finish is the same way.

EDIT: Club now official! Thanks, prosser13. :D

How are those SSD treating you? I am thinking about buying some but they still havn't dropped in price much.

What do you guys think about this one?

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...TC840_mod1.jpg

I saw that on CoolerMaster's forum some time ago, and it is the epitome of awesome for what you can do to the case, aside from the water loop used (unless I've just not looked for anything better...).

Yeah if I could buy it like that (for a reasonable price), I'd get it in a heartbeat :D

I own an ATCS840 in silver but I just placed an order for the black ATCS840 w/ side window for my in-progress i7 triple-SLI GTX285 build w/ EVGA x58 E759 Classified modo and (hopefully) dual water loop (one for processor and one for gfx).

Right now my current silver ATCS840 is housing my Gigabyte x48, QX6800 Extreme build.

Got any pics? :)

No.

But I can snap some either tonight or tomorrow morning for ya. ^_^

Wow, I joined this forum in August 2007 and my first post was the one before this... Guess I just didn't have anything worth saying until now, lol.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0487.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0488.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0489.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0490.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0491.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0492.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0497.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0498.jpg

Intel PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Server Adapter
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0499.jpg

ASUS Geforce 9600GT 512MB GDDR3
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0500.jpg

Creative X-FI Xtreme Audio MSI Edition
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0501.jpg

XFX Geforce GTX280
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0502.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0503.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0504.jpg

HDD
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0505.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0506.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0509.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0510.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0511.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0512.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1175.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1176.jpg

PCI-E 4X Intel Pro/1000 PT Dual Port
PCI-E 16X XFX Geforce GTX280
PCI-E 4X XFX Geforce GTX280
PCI 玄人志向 No-PCI
PCI-E 16X ASUS Geforce 9600GT 512MB GDDR3
PCI ASUS Geforce 9600GT 512MB GDDR3
PCI-E 4X Creative X-FI Xtreme Audio MSI Edition
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1177.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1178.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1179.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1182.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1191.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1197.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_1198.jpg


not yet finish :mad:




comming up next

MSI X38 Diamond

HKD$350 (SPECIAL PRICE)

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0535.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0531.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...0/IMG_0534.jpg

Nice pics dude, shows some of the finer details.

Why 2 power supplies? You aren't pulling enough load off of either unit to warrant the other...

whats with the two ethernet cords going into the NIC card? Cant you use onboard or is this acting as a router/switch or better speeds?

@ 430

Where did you purchase the 840 with the windowed side panel already installed?

Just get better power efficiency to my hard drive

becasue i give up there kind of things


http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0296.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0297.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0298.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0299.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0301.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0304.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0306.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0305.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0265.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0266.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0268.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0269.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0270.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0271.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0272.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0273.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0307.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/d...e/IMG_0308.jpg

well

Intel server dual port NIC support load balanceing

Distrubitor in Hong Kong

new pics soon to include the...

EVGA xeno killer nic (already installed), creative xfi titanium fatal1ty pro (already installed) and enermax revolution 1050w (waiting on shipping for friday delivery)

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9199/dsc4114l.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/dsc...jpg/1/w640.png
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/5135/dsc4115ygr.jpg
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/dsc...jpg/1/w640.png
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6830/dsc4117.jpg
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/dsc4117.jpg/1/w640.png
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/284/dsc4123.jpg
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/d...jpg/1/w428.png
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/4829/dsc4118z.jpg
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/dsc...jpg/1/w428.png
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/287/dsc4121c.jpg
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/dsc...jpg/1/w428.png
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4737/dsc4120c.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/dsc4120c.jpg/1/w428.png
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/8064/dsc4129n.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/dsc...jpg/1/w640.png
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/8341/dsc4133n.jpg
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/dsc...jpg/1/w640.png
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3906/dsc4127.jpg
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/d...jpg/1/w640.png
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4716/dsc4126.jpg
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/dsc4126.jpg/1/w640.png

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2423/dsc3969.jpg
http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/2602/dsc3971.jpg
http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/2360/dsc3978.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5900/dsc3973.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8131/dsc3964.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7901/dsc4011.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/304/dsc3992.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5871/dsc3965.jpg
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7418/dsc3987.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/5016/dsc4003.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7427/dsc4005.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/5578/dsc4008l.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6901/19385666.jpg


http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/4865/50982759.jpg


http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/5138/35943383.jpg
]

http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/2889/36877677.jpg


http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/9182/22328891.jpg


http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7674/84081552.jpg


http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/7498/12783355.jpg


http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/3851/23719957.jpg


http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7882/30338139.jpg


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9245/50776770.jpg

I love this case.

Here's mine:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...B/58687e94.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...B/33598ab0.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...B/5862312f.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...B/264cd72e.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g3...B/c87612aa.jpg

I plan on purchasing this case within the next week and I had a couple questions.

It seems likes there is a lot of exhaust vs. intake... can the three optional fan areas within the case support 3 x 120mm fans? 120 x 25 and 120 x 38? Just curious as I may put a Delta on the bottom intake for some extra air and 2 x Scythe S-FLEX on the two optional fan areas that's attached on the HDD cage. I doubt that I'll need to change any of the exhaust as I said earlier seems to be efficient already.

I may have more questions, but those are the ones that came to mind at the moment.

Thanks ;)

Bump ^

for intake 3 fans can be added..

2 120mm fans can be added on the HDD cage facing the video cards and one 120mm on the bottom of the case which is filtered.

that being said there is also a 230mm fan for intake infront on the case behind the sheild that is also filtered.

the PSU has its own filtered intake area as well

so there are plenty of inteake fans

for exhaust the case comes with 2 230mm fans on top of the case and 1 120mm behind the CPU cooler on the back of the case.

also it comes with a exhaust duct attachment that coveres the expansion slot which a 120mm fan can be added, but isnt provided = dumb

intense case for any builder and the best and biggest i have personally ever owned.

Now can those fans be 120 x 38 and 120 x 25? Just curious as I would like to put a deeper fan especially on the extra intake as it seems the stock exhaust included with the case definatly exceeds the intake. I dont really consider the two fans on the HDD cage as "intake" because it's only pushing the air that's coming in from the one 230mm fan and not actually drawing air from the outside.

Thanks ;)

Wow man, that's pretty ridiculous. How loud does that thing get? Is the entire weight of that rear radiator rested on that single 120mm fan mount?

It's very quiet actually. Every 120mm fan is an S-Flex fan, and is fan controlled.

Yup, the entire rad at the back is held by the 38mm shroud and fan, and it's solid. ;)

That's insane... I didn't expect anyone to have a liquid loop set up like that, especially in that case. Added and envied due to the loop. :D

Yes, There is room for a 120x38 on the bottom, you could stack a few of them if you want. I got just over 190mm with no obstructions before I get to my vid card

Thanks. :tonguesmi

Has anyone actually purchased here before?

http://www.provantage.com/cooler-mas...p~7COOL050.htm

It'll save me basically the shipping cost so roughly ~$20 over Newegg. I was just curious if anyone else has had issues with Provantage?

i did look what happen to me.http://forums.hardwarelogic.com/f47/...iss-19661.html really piss off.:mad:

I just purchased and received the ATCS 840 from Provantage this week with no problem. Actually, I was really impressed. I made my order on Tuesday night and received it on Thursday afternoon with regular shipping. No dents or scratches.

Hello, I'm new here and I have the ATCS 840. I've seen lots of you have very nice systems with mods and water cooling setups. I'm not there yet, but I have improved airflow drastically in this case. In fact, I've improved it so much it beats my old Antec 300, which has the same airflow setup as the 900 but a 140mm top exhaust fan rather than 200mm. We all know the Antec 300/900/902/1200 were built mainly for air flow.

To start, I have 11 fans in my ATCS 840 and the only loud one is the Antec TriCool. It spins 1850-1900 RPM (supposed to be 2000), and screams. I'll replace it ASAP. I have the three 230mm fans and eight 120mm fans. I've replaced most of the 120mm fans with COOLER MASTER R4 series fans, both blue LED and no LED. These spin at 1900-1950 RPM and at 2000 RPM are rated at 90 CFM. They're very quiet too. My only gripe is the external construction but they're just fans.

Here are the 120mm fans I'm using. Made by COOLER MASTER, these 120mm x 25mm fans have nine curved blades which are somewhat transparent. They have a 2000 RPM max rating, pushing 90 CFM at this speed. The minimum DBA is 19, but at 2000 RPM they are still only rated at 23 DBA. These fans have a mediocre external build quality, but perform very well. They push more air than any other 120mm fan I've ever used, including the 2500 RPM fan on my old radiator which only had an 80 CFM rating. These fans are available with no LED, blue LED, red LED, and green LED. The fan itself always looks the same, they're not overly bright due to the dark fan blades.
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2847/img2131k.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-04

So what have I done to the airflow? Well first, as stated in the original post, one of the 230mm top exhaust fans (the one closest to the drive bay cage) draws air out of the case prematurely. So what I did was unplug it. I'm sure many of you do this, but this isn't all I've done. I tried reversing it to make it an intake, but that didn't work out so well. My temps are best with the fan off. Disabling it gave me an immediate 3-7 degree Celsius CPU temperature drop!

I'm not sure how well this forum resizes 2048 x 1536 pictures, so I'll post smaller ones. I have two Logisys 12" cold blue cathodes near the top of the case.
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/1955/img1823q.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-05-23

Okay, now we got that down. When I first assembled my PC in the case, I immediately threw some 120mm fans into the HDD cage to blow air around the case. I also added a 120mm blue LED bottom intake fan, and used the stock rear fan in the external air duct since at the time I had a water cooler (iBuyPower IBP-Z001). To further improve air flow, I added a Scythe Kama Bay to the 5.25" drive bay. It takes up 3 slots. Now here is where I have a question for you guys. I would have liked to put the Kama bay in the bottom 3 slots, but I can't seem to be able to remove the 5.25" to 3.5" adapter. Is it possible to remove it?

I replaced the default 800 RPM silent fan in the Scythe Kama bay with a CM R4 series 120mm fan (no LED). I also had to cut a thin layer off the non-washable dust filter, since the fan would hit the dust filter.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5275/img1968z.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-01
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4871/img2095.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-03

Now here comes some real, light mods. Nothing big here, all I did was improve the airflow. The case came with many fan brackets so you can use up to three 120mm top fans or a 360 radiator. I took a pair of these fan brackets, screwed a 120mm fan into them, and zip tied the bracket/fan to the 5.25" bay. Now we have a push/pull design with the Scythe Kama Bay. Not only this, but I modded a 120mm fan to the MOBO tray by using double sided tape and a zip tie. This blows air right onto the video cards. I am using CM R4 series blue LED 120mm fans here. I will move this modded fan on the MOBO tray lower so it blows air on both video cards, and I'll make it closer to the video cards as well.

My fans are mismatched. All of the 120mm fans are CM R4 series, except for the two in the HDD cage and the bottom intake. The uppermost mismatched fan is an Antec TriCool that is too loud. The other two are silent Yate Loons, but they're worse than the R4 series and still mismatched.
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7775/img2280m.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-05
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/7087/img2283f.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-05

To make all of this visible I got a windowed side panel from svcompucycle. I actually have two, one came damaged and had footprints on the shipping box. Then I got this one for free and got to keep the old one.
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1831/img1817j.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-05-13
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/314/img1818t.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-05-13
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/7892/img1819k.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-05-13

Some of the pictures are outdated and don't have my new cooling setup. Oh well. Next on my list is to paint the entire thing black. My GTX 260 has a red side panel which looks retarded in my case. I will paint that black as well, and remove the EVGA sticker.

When I had my water cooler (a bad one by the way), and this modded fan setup, my CPU idled at 32-35 degrees Celsius. In Prime95 it got to 53-57 degrees. My GTX 260 idles at 40-41 degrees, and in FurMark the max temp was 73 degrees after about a 30 minute run! My 9600GT never exceeds 45 degrees, since all it does is calculate PhysX. You can find out about my system in my system specs.

Overall I'm very happy with this case. The only negatives I found are the sharpness of the front removable aluminum bezel, and thin side panels. But hey, the windowed version survived a fully grown man's weight, since I bent that side panel back into shape. I am using it as a backup side panel, as well as the one without a window.

So I hope this helps anyone who wishes to improve airflow within the case. Here is a picture I took, to show off the airflow setup. I had an 80mm fan on the MOBO tray at the time.
http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8559/airflowh.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-01

i wish my was like your damm why me why.

I hate to tell you, but there's no way they spin that fast and stay down near 23 dBA. It's just impossible in that fan size. If there's some way you can prove they really push that much air and stay that quiet at the same time, feel free. In the meantime, added to the list. Post pics once you've got the interior painted, it's really amazing in full-black (and don't bother tagging your images with "taken by me at this date with this camera", it's not really necessary).

I figured they sugar coated the specs, it actually says 19 DBA at the minimum. Anyway I did check with my fan controller, they do spin at 1900-1950 RPM, and push a lot of air. Not sure about DBA but they are very quiet.

About the tagged pictures, I just copied the imageshack link, they're there already. Thanks for adding me, but I may need to toughen up before I decide to paint the case. I probably will though.

I take it you're doing it yourself, then. The thing you need more than anything else is patience when you do stuff like that, otherwise you'll just make things worse. Even though I didn't do my powder coat myself, it came out very well for a local shop (you'd know what I mean if you knew how the people here are) and was worth the cost, which would have just been the cost of a powder-coating gun, and I don't have the skill to pull off the work the shop did. Of course I lost a little respect when I asked if I could get any San Aces through them, and they told me that Newark wasn't one of their "trusted/registered" suppliers, and that none of the suppliers they COULD order from carried San Aces, and instead recommended an LED Antec that wasn't a TriCool, saying "Antec is quality with these fans". It threw me for a loop because I thought "they liked my case a whole ton and did a nice job with the coat, but then they push this crappy fan in my face? whaaaaat?", but oh well.

never install the 12CM fan at the bottom or you may just block the air from the 2 X 12CM fan at HDD cage

HERE are some update

i've change all SATA cable to intel UV(OEM by foxconn)50CM


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/...6fa956ba27.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/...15d3c08f91.jpg

Does anyone here have a radgrill installed in the top of your ATCS 840? I was hoping to see what one would look like before I decided if I wanted to put one in for the 360 rad I'm going to install in the top.

You could buy one off of eBay from Buy.com and get Bing cashback for less. The case is $205.99 free shipping and then you can get 8% Bing cashback.

WOW! Are two power supplies really necessary? You have 1600W right there :eek:

I'll disable my bottom fan to see what happens. But if I do that, I'll have negative air pressure, therefore more dust :mad:

It doesn't. I have fans at all 3 positions and less than half of the lower fan is blocked, with the upper fan completely unobstructed; however if you try to put anything thicker than 38mm fans in the behind-cage positions, it'll block the floor fan position from having a fan installed entirely.

Good to know, I disabled the bottom fan and got absolutely no difference in temperatures. I'll leave it there because it looks cool. I would like to get a cover like on the Cosmos 1000 which allows you to aim the fan at certain components. Does anyone know if you can buy one of these? Here is what I'm talking about.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/C.../bottomfan.jpg

I don't think you can buy that, but I'd see if a Cosmos 1000 user has one they aren't using (haha, yeah right) and will give it away/sell it.

New Pics
 

Hey guys, I picked up the stock side panel with window from Cooler Master and installed a pair of LED light sticks (like cold cathodes but DC LED's, much more convenient). Anyway, took some new pics, lemme know what you think, thanks!

-Lee

http://www.leedash.com/computer/BackWires.jpg

http://www.leedash.com/computer/CaseWithWindow.jpg

http://www.leedash.com/computer/InsideCloseUp.jpg

http://www.leedash.com/computer/InsideLEDLight.jpg

http://www.leedash.com/computer/SideOpen.jpg

http://www.leedash.com/computer/SidePanelLEDLight.jpg

Thanks for adding me to the club, I just finished my wire dressing to the best of my ability at this hour and after many hours of impatience. Ill post pics tomorrow, I believe im the second one here to have a side panel window, and the only one to have a side panel window as large as the one that I have.

No problem. Looking forward to seeing the wire management and side window.

Hey club,
I just accidentally broke my antec 1200 and I'm looking into buying a new case. This time I want a sleeker looking case and loved the looks of the ATCS 840. Some reviews say that the cooling is bad. Will the case cool my GTX 285s efficiently. I will air cool. Is this the best case with good looks for air cooling or would you suggest another case to me?

The cooling is bad stock, and you can easily change the cooling. My ATCS 840 now has 11 fans (10 of which are used since one drew air out of the case prematurely) and now cools better than my Antec 300 (which is the same as the 900 but a 140mm top fan instead of 200mm).

The ATCS 840 only comes with a 230mm front intake fan, dual 230mm top exhaust fans, and a 120mm rear fan. The 230mm fans are rated at 700 RPM/110 CFM/19 DBA, while the 120mm fan is rated at 1200 RPM/45 CFM/17 DBA. I highly suggest changing out the stock 120mm fan. You should also disable the top 230mm fan closest to the drive bay cage, or make it an intake since it draws air out of the case prematurely.

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/1955/img1823q.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-05-23

I also suggest adding a 120mm bottom intake fan, dual 120mm intake fans in the HDD cage, and a 120mm fan in the external air duct, which really helps keep GPU temps down. If you want you can do what I did - mod a 120mm fan onto the motherboard tray (but make it lower and closer to the GPUs than I did). I did this buy using double sided tape and a zip tie.

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/7087/img2283f.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-05

You can also get a Scythe Kama Bay if you have less than 3 optical drives, since it takes up 3 slots. I suggest replacing the fan with a faster fan, the included one is only 800 RPM and like 33 CFM I think. You can then mod a fan to the 5.25" bay for a push/pull effect. That is an easy mod to do. Simply screw the fan into the included fan brackets, and zip tie the brackets to the cage.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5275/img1968z.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-01
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4871/img2095.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-03
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7775/img2280m.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-05

The dark 120mm fans shown are the COOLER MASTER R4 series. They have a 2000 RPM/90 CFM rating, and stay surprisingly quiet. I have three with blue LEDs, one on the MOBO tray, one on the 5.25" cage, and one on the rear. I have two more with no LEDs (they all look the same when not on), one in the Scythe Kama bay and one in the external air duct.

Here are the fans.
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2847/img2131k.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-04

The ATCS 840 is a much better case than the Antec 1200, except for airflow, but it is still good fir airflow unlike other cases that share the same style (Silverstone TJ07, the upcoming Corsair thing). You can really mess with the airflow in the case, like what I said above. You can also replace the top 230mm fans with up to three 120mm fans. But some of the modding isn't even necessary. Simply disabling that top 230mm fan closest to the drive bay cage (or making it an intake), adding a bottom 120mm intake and two 120mm intakes in the HDD cage (mounts are already there), and adding a 120mm exhaust fan into the external air duct is just fine.

Oh, Chunky_Chimp, I found that Cosmos fan cover available in Europe! Good news for Europeans, sadly I don't live in Europe :(

http://www.coolermaster.nl/shop/prod...roducts_id=231

PART NUMBER = RA-1000-FBN1-GP

Here are three photos

Nice looking rig, you made that side panel? I'm considering that PSU in the future as well.

It was custom from FrozenCpu.com

Hmm, I just noticed how far away the motherboard's sit form the cable management hole on the motherboard tray. Might half to cover that one up with something and make new ones. Dono 3 more weeks till I order my CM ATCS 840 Black

There is also another hole at the top of the tray, and you have the ability to route cables behind the PSU too, I got all my MB headers running there, and my motherboard 4-pin power connector.

Yeah i know about that one. Hmm we will just see what I can do when it shows up at my door step.

There is plenty of potential, the box will include a bunch of zip ties and wire anchors that are really helpful.

nice side panel.

I advise against the bolded part. One of the other owners tried that and said his temps INCREASED when he did that, and dropped dramatically both compared to that and compared to stock when he simply unplugged it.

We can't be sure about the Obsidian's cooling effectiveness. A 140mm fan draws air directly into the mobo area, and a 120mm draws air directly over the hard drives and directs the hot air out from behind the mobo tray. Both fans draw air through a single long filter that's easily removable from the outside bottom of the case. To me that's a very good system, but again we can't be too sure until reviews come out.

Interesting... oh well.

Has anyone seen any benefit to taking out unused hard drive slots? I was thinking that having them in there unused may impede air flow a bit, but then again I dont think my airflow is anywhere near problematic :tonguesmi

It didn't affect my temps when I removed the unused trays, really. But that's just me.

I didnt think it would affect temps at all, then again we both have the hard drive accessory fans installed, I would guess that without the extra fans it may help to remove the unused bays

I tried it before I installed the new fans, as well. No change whatsoever.

I've also noticed some screws in the top of the HDD cage. Is this so you can remove it? If so, that is very helpful for modders. Unlike the HAF 932 where you have to cut it out.

I don't think I can use that Cosmos fan cover for the bottom fan, and two fans in the HDD cage. It might hit the fan on the bottom of the cage.

His motherboard doesn't seem very wide. My 680i LT is a bit closer to the cut out.

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7269/img2618bfh.jpg
By boredgunner, shot with Canon PowerShot A590 IS at 2009-06-11

I know someone who made the top 230mm fan closest to the drive bay cage an intake, and got even better results than when disabling it. It is different for everyone, it can't hurt to test it out and see which is the best. I know for me, making it an intake was ineffective.

Hi all,

I am new here on the forum, soon wil the atc 840 deliverd by me.
And i wil share the buildlog on the forum.

Sorry for my bad enlish i come from the netherland,s but i try::sadsmiley

Here some pict. from my build-log http://www.highflow.nl/forum/f34/wor...an-pc-p80-608/

in the atc840 wil come watercooling too

I've never seen watercooling parts like that before... that's REALLY nice how it worked out. Also, don't worry about your english (I've seen worse, believe me). Make sure to fill out your system specs in your signature in the user control panel by clicking Add System on the left side. Added to the list ahead of time. :cool:

Did they install it in the side panel for you or did you just buy the bolt-on kit and do it yourself? Just wondering because I was considering buying that window as well since I liked it's full size. They quoted me about $100 for them to install it in my side panel if I sent it to them but I'm going to install one myself or have this other guy I know do it for less.

I could have installed it myself for 49.99, but I had them install the side panel as I dont have the necessary tools to do it myself for $100.

http://www.coolermaster.nl/shop/prod...roducts_id=497

complete sidepanel to buy:)

Yeah, I'm thinking of getting one of those myself. Not sure yet, though.

thats an inexpensive side panel, not bad, however it isnt as big as a custom one. If I were to buy a side panel again I would go with the cooler master one, much cheaper :D. Yet at the same time im happy that my case is different from most.

Yes that is the one I have. I got it for $40 at svcompucycle. The first one I got had foot prints on the box, and the side panel itself was bent out of shape. The only packaging was the side panel with foam inserts on each corner, in the cardboard box. That's it. I bent it back into shape, after I called for an RMA. The good thing is, they sent me a new one free of charge in near perfect condition.

I like the look of the window, the FrozenCPU one is much too large for my liking. I prefer the look of the Silverstone TJ07 but that case is much too pricey, and the airflow is too bad. I really do like the HDD/PSU design, and the fact that the front/top/bottom are all one piece of aluminum, but that's all the case has going for it. My hardware is entirely air cooled so that case would fail for me, but then again I could have gotten two Scythe Kama bays and zip tied a fan to the other side of each cage, and then make the rear fans exhausts. It was just too pricey though, and no anti-vibration systems are included but that can be done easily.

http://silverstonetek.com/images/pro...07B-3-4-02.jpg
http://silverstonetek.com/images/pro...TJ07B-Side.jpg

The CM window on my ATCS 840.
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7269/img2618bfh.jpg

Here is a thread I wrote, suggestions for CM :)

http://forum.coolermaster.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12346

In the future I may purchase the TJ07, paint it black, and modify the heck out of it using parts from my ATCS 840.

I noticed it looked like they installed your window a little off center compared to the one they show in their picture didn't they?

Actually the TJ07 is viewed as one of the best water loop-capable cases out there, since you can fit a 480 + 240 in the bottom section with minimal effort. For air cooling, yeah, it's not as good as some others.

Yeah they did that purposely due to the overall size of the window and the metal crossbrace. If the cross brace wasnt there they would have mounted it more centered.

The one they show on their website with the bolt-on window they have it fairly centered and you can see the crossbrace at the top.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/84...0-KKN1-GP.html

I think if I get mine done with that large of a window I'll have it centered like that because the crossbrace showing a little doesn't bother me and I'll have the interior powder coated anyway. I may go with a little smaller window closer to the size Cooler Master sells though.

Hmm anyone cut there own window out? I herd there vary thin and can bend easily. Anyway to reinforce it?

Yeah I see that. They do it custom so its most likely going to look slightly different everytime. I like the positioning of mine, seeing the cross brace looks kind of tacky IMO. Then again if I were to spend all that extra money on a powder coat I would want to show off the cross brace.

Anyone else able to see the photos? I keep seeing the bandwidth exceeded picture instead of the smexy photos.